As always, it was great fun working on the video with you! Here's hoping we'll be able to see the triumphant return of figma figures in the future! (^.^)
Everything you said in this video makes perfect sense as to why Figma is in the situation it's in; - collecting them is far more niche than the company (or it's fans) seemed to have realized in the early days (for the exact reason you already mentioned; most people would rather have a larger statue with more detail than a small figure that can pose in 3 dozen ways - I'd assume because, like Gundam models, the average person just picks a cool pose and won't touch the figure for an extended period of time) - plus the massive increase in mold and paint quality (the better both of these get, the more skilled you need the designers to be and thus the more you have to pay them; and that cost always gets passed on to consumers) - outside influences like the increasing price of the materials used to make them causes each figure to cost more than previous releases (the cost of PVC, one of the two plastics used in the models, went from costing $889 USD per metric tonne in 2020 to $1,389 per metric tonne today - ABS plastic went from $2,640 per metric tonne in 2017 to roughly $3,300 per tonne in 2022) All of that would lead any well-functioning company to scale back on production because their job isn't to create the best action figures with the widest variety and the most accessories, it's to make as big a profit as they can, and if profit margins start decreasing, so too does production to compensate so the company doesn't go from making 500% return on investment to only 400% (or really any decrease in profit margins at all; the goal of any publicly traded company is to make more money this year than they did last year... every year... forever).
I miss those good old days when revoltech and figma is cheap and affordable with alot of accessories. The most expensive figma i bought is Berserker Armor for USD 50.
@@virginlamb5375revoltech is a rare case where the price increase is justified. I can’t even get a crazy/rage face with most of my characters, special effects, although they improved poseability with some figma there’s still a lot that don’t have that or suffer from qc issues. It’s sad because this is the line that got me into collecting
It's a shame to see Figma reaching this low. Figma was part of the things that interested me when I was first exposed to anime, and I even gained new hobby after started to collect Figma - Creating stop motion animation. But now it's really hard to get Figma of my favorite characters...... I am still willing to pay more to get Figma, problem is they don't even allow me to pay when there is no Figma I am interested in.
Yep and they don't make more figures of lines that seemed to have been dropped. which is a shame because I would love for them to make more figures for mha,aot,durarara!!,hxh,etc But yeah I don't think I'll collect alot of figma's unless they're one of my favorite characters
the moment when figma reached 10kyen is where I draw the line of affordable pricing. the amount of acessories and the high pricing is ridiculous. even with FGO lancer Artoria dx is cost at 17.8k yen even with both normal ver is still heck expensive on that horse and even way more expensive than Erwin came out.
I was honestly surprised Figmas now go for $80+ when I used to be able to find them for like $40-ish (or less if I was lucky) in conventions back in 2012-2015
Lol, their is a thing called inflation, everything from our figures, to our phones, into housing has gone up. Its not just figma, all other merchandise has gone way up.
@@Ghostalker85 yea, I'm seeing people complaining a lot about this or when companies are making budget cuts /layoffs and it truly is because the pandemic, inflation and rising prices for the production, manufacturing and transportation of goods. It sucks and I hope it will all improve soon...
Figmas are becoming increasingly difficult with the price hiking with each release. A normal anime school girl with a bunch of hands can turn from 8000 yen to 9000 yen with only a few months time. It's crazy Max Factory thinks this is okay. You can't really buy a Figma just cuz you think it's cool, you really have to decide if you really want it or not, so I've basically cut down on my purchases save for a few franchises that I know I'd want like Fate. Which... Doesn't really help since Fate is basically one of their cashcows.
Yeah, i used to buy one's just because i liked the character design. Now the price is so high i only buy if i have seen the show or have some sort of affection for the character.
Agreed. Plus there aren't that many Figmas of my favorite characters. I only have 4(as of this reply): Black Rock Shooter, Raphtalia, Asuna, and Rikka. Nowadays, the only "pose-able" anime figures I can find, are S.H. Figuarts, which are slightly cheaper than Figma by about $20 average.
I recently bought from the Snail Shell brand, the truth is that in details and number of accessories it is far above figma. Those are really worth what you pay. Thanks for the video!
They're certainly nice but you're _really_ paying for it. About US$120 or so. Revoltech has the same problem. Good figures, but they're pretty much all over $100.
I remember Figma being $100 maximum, and seeing them go for over 11000 yen, and not get that many accessories for that price, feels like a rip-off to me.
Figma still reigns supreme when it comes to articulated anime figures and that’s kind of the problem. The way we consume media has changed a lot in the last decade. There aren’t many safe bets anymore because we move on to the next new thing very quickly since there’s a lot of new things all the time. The biggest strength when it comes to anime and manga in comparison to comics and superhero movies is a really big problem for making figures. When it comes to superhero figures it’s pretty much just make the new things. There’s already a bigger audience and you’re mostly just making more of the same thing within a couple already established franchises. You can start to work on figures before the movies even come out. Whereas with anime figures it's very volatile because it’s hard to even know what will be a success and by the time you’ve confirmed that (which is usually when a show ends because shows occasionally do this thing where they have terrible endings) and start working on a figure people will probably have moved on to the next thing. This is why they’re mostly making stuff from games or shows with multiple seasons or vtubers because that’s the stuff they can feel more confident will reliably stick with people.
The reason why Figma can gain lots of fans (not the collector) is the quality of their products and the use of soft plastic for the skirt parts I still remember when both GSC and Bandai release their own Love Live action figure. GSC use soft plastic for the skirt, while Bandai use hard plastic and put half of the characters on Premium Bandai/Tamashii web exclusive. It makes harder for people to become fans of SHF when Bandai themselves only make it available for Japanese people
Plastics in general are just more expensive now, especially during the pandemic era. I can also confirm this because mechanical keyboards, another hobby of mine, have plastic parts like keycaps that are also getting much more expensive. Because of that factor, Good Smile probably found it less worth it to create low cost figures when material costs are rising. Pop Up Parade seems to be taking over, probably because they are much cheaper to make overall (since no articulating parts).
been watching actar figma review back in the days, since then figma is my favorite figures line, i still keep buying them eventhough the price goes skyrocket
I've always wanted figma anime figures ever since I was a young teen. Now I'm in my very early 20s, and started collecting them. And it does suck to see their prices go higher. I feel that the pandemic also caused prices to increase.
I really want to say it's also due to licensing, since not all the figures produced are wanted as figures for some collectors. If they were able to dip their toes into other "waters" then I feel they could grow since there are many franchises/series that haven't had the figma treatment in a while(ex; YYH( recently made by a 3rd party; Dasin model), Hellsing, Trigun, Fairy Tail to name a few). They also have the potential to release other characters, just kindo how their berserk line is a bit dry(imo) and re-releasing the sought after figs.
That's also one of the reasons Figma's popularity has decreased, there's was more options now if you want a posable figure than back then, some lines, like A.T.K Girls, Megami Device, Frame Arms, etc offer much more than current figmas, not only from the get go, but by the fact that they are also made up to be super easy to customize whoever the person want, be it with hundreds of accessories to chose from or just painting them in any color combination desired, all of that while also being cheaper than Figmas.
Yep, same here. And with bandai now joining the mecha musume world properly (let's not talk about their previous attempts) with their insanely cheap but we'll crafted 30ms I see a lot of figma collectors moving on to musume kits.
As a figure collector myself, I can definitely agree with the "accessories being hinder-some" part. I love Figmas, and I have a few myself. But once I've chosen a pose I like, the extra accessories just get put into storage. Unless I want to do stop motion like other people, which is unlikely. Another factor into the high prices, could be inflation, at least in my country.
Wow, and I just bought my first ever Figma on AmiAmi a week ago. I wasn't really thinking that hard about accessories when making the purchase, because it's a character from one of my favorite gachas. I'm blinded by purchases like that lol. However, seeing the difference in price and the lack of add-ons from past vs. present figures was really surprising! Before shipping price, my Figma was in that $70 range. Makes me wish I knew about Figma a lot sooner than later! XD Thanks for this video! It was really helpful and funny. :D
Yeah I just recently got interested in figures, and it's underwhelming how price has increased but with less accessories compared to the past. But I really love the character so still want to buy it. Would be worse to splurge on whatever looks nice even though you aren't that into the character.
Figma is gouging. And Japanese prices themselves are getting expensive, add another $40 usd for American customers. I just pre-ordered Hemet nethel for $92, with tax and shipping, since it's such a unique piece. It was hard to bring myself to do, but these days the value proposition for most articulating anime figures is poor... There's a significant gap in the 1/12 scale atm.
I looked back on my P3 Aigis figma that I purchased in 2015 and was surprised it was only about 40 bucks, now the price has nearly tripled since then. Its astonishing.
As a casual figure collector, thank you for the info. I wouldn't mind getting more figma figures if there are any that appeals to me. Or nenroid. Or revoltech. I don't really discriminate.
I only buy figures when I love the characters to death. Which helps me greatly to choose and save some money. But I also will sell my figures when they endup disappointing me out of defects, when I don't love them anymore, or the articulation being not what I expected. Still, this hurts to me, since now not even Nendoroids are safe from the shitty decisions on price and availability. The Bayonetta Nendoroid almost killed my wallet and I'm PISSED. Also, please let's not forget about the exclusive bonus parts, which makes the price even higher, and is not even such a great thing to justify the money. Just a new faceplate, a base with some logo, or a tiny little accessory which doesn't cost even the 10000000 (?) part of the actual figure. Absolutely ridiculous. And I hate this so much because I love these figures, and I already was picky as hell to buy only those I for sure will keep and love, but I don't think I'll ever be able to buy one anymore.
Aktar is still alive! That guy's the reason I started buying Figmas like a maniac! Of course it started with Haruhi, after binging both seasons & the movie. I think I got all the Haruhi collection, except her summer outfit. Oh why didn't Bandai just finish Robo version KA of Mikuru Asahina?! Why??!!!! Now I'm missing her forever! That's a glaring hole that can not be filled! The last Figma I received is Pekora! Yes, even the basic ones are $70 - $90 these days. I suppose the Kancolle line is dead. Also, no one's doing Azurlane. My most two expensive ones are probably Slan & that ship girl that sits in a chair, I completely forgot her name. They are both in the $150 range. The price hikes a really a huge bummer, but I will still get the ones I really like. On another note, just paid for Nendo Gura & Rushia. No shipping notice yet. Hoping to get them by the weekend. It looks like the days when Figma released all the characters are over. Now you're lucky if you get more than the core cast. I can't wait for all the Myth girls!
Been collecting figmas since about 2012 and have about 200 of them. They have gotten a hell of a lot better quality over the years. They are still very good figures however it's gotten to the point where the price no longer justifies it. I used to think 'oh it only cost 30 bucks? I'll have that then'. But now it's so expensive and I don't want a single figure to feel like an investment. At the end of the day there are cheaper figures that are just as good quality or better than figma.
Also something to note is how what's popular nowadays end up only being popular in a much shorter time frame. So short in fact that figma's development cycle cannot keep up at all. By the time they are able to release this certain character from a series, the fans have already moved on. What's worse they tend to keep series lines incomplete nowadays due to this problem. I think this started with their One Punch Saitama figma figure which came out so late nobody cared for the series anymore by the time it released. This is the time they stopped completing sets of characters from various series. Symphogear comes to mind. Maxfactory seemed to have learned from this and are only casting their dice on really popular series in Japan like Fate Series and nowadays hololive. Problem with this is what if you are not a fan of those things? This is the case for me. I started with figmas for my collectibles but nowadays? I just look at a new figma's source material then look at the price and just sigh. Also yes, there are other options for poseable figures nowadays that still keep the whole notion of more bang for your buck that figma used to have so I tend to gravitate towards those nowadays. Snail Shell is one and Daibadi is one too. Worth a try. The only problem they have is they produce their own characters, not licensed characters.
I agree with you, the figures (and this counts for every piece of merch tbh, even cosplays) take so much time to get done, that when they're ready to sell, the people is already onto the next trend. Of course no one can predict which anime will be the big one to go and invest in figures and merch, but man it would be awesome to get figures at the same time the anime drops out.
heck, to this day, the blank figma is one of my favourites, because i loved using it for drawing, and to practice sculpting over and making my own accessories and clothing for. i'm even one of the weirdos who liked their tabletop museum line, with all figures of famous art pieces lol.
IMO the types/amount of properties represented by figma and the characters they actually choose to sculpt are the reason they have trouble finding a market. The last 10 announced figures that are not re-released are from: a VTUBER group, a web series, 2 mobile games, a video game, random art recreations, and then 4 are from separate anime, two of which have versions that are being created by other companies with earlier release dates. Figma needs to choose a demographic or series and work more consistently on making impressive collections in shorter time windows. My first figma were the Madoka Magica line because other companies weren't making them articulated and they represented the whole main cast and the antagonist. If they treated more series releases like that they'd have a niche. Right now they're all over the place. Look at how consistent companies like Bandai and Aniplex have been. I can always expect Dragon Ball and Demon Slayer every few months and they are action series, so the articulation suits them. If figma would have consistently released (only examples) FGO (not Saber-face) or Shaman King there'd be little competition and a consistent expectation.
Honestly I don't get the random illustration figures. Yes they're super pretty, but who the hell knows those? Not from a famous anime/game/etc, not even actual names (most go for stuff like "insert word here" girl from X illustrator). I have the feeling these are from internal contests of the sculptors on the company, and they choose a winner to make their own figure to flex on "look how complicated and detail this figure is, buy it before is too late!" I remember an incredibly beautiful figure being born in those conditions. But that one was from a (rather unknown) manga series so it wasn't a random design either.
If you think about it companies like Bandai and Medicos consistently create action figures for series who don't have any alternatives (ie: Dragon Ball, Kamen Rider, and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure) which results in a consistent customer base. Good Smile's Figma kind of all over the place which results in them not finding niche.
Thank you for covering this topic. As a figma fan, I am still collecting them albeit at a slower pace due to the lack of space at my place. When compared to the older figmas with the new versions such as Saber and Rin, I find that there's a stark difference (or upgrade) between them. Though I am disappointed with the increased price compared to the amount of items figma is offering. Nonetheless, I am still collecting them though I am limited to my favorite waifus. Also, it's nice to hear Actar after all these years.
yeah I stopped collecting like two years ago. They were always defected like yugi, makoto( major), dark magician girl and others. Plus the price went way up with little accessories.
i gave up on the mass manufactures of accessories and high-detail models, they never make the stuff i want (or can afford) so i turned to 3d printing and it's treating me pretty well.
According to one of their partner stores, Gamersheek, Goodsmile seems to be planning to move away from the Figma line and focusing on their Nendoroid and Pop Up Parade line.
I've noticed the price hikes with GSC products in general as of late, too. I remember when I got my first nendoroid back in 2013 (Mikasa Ackerman), and she was about $45 at the time (pretty good deal, given how many accessories she came with). But lately, recent releases have been costing me around at LEAST $70, even when they come with far fewer accessories. I get that inflation over almost a decade is to be expected, but with these figures almost doubling in price, I'm starting to wonder if it's worth it, as much as I love their figures.
That's literally most of the anime figures to be honest. Just look at nendoroids, scales and normal toys. Heck, even something unrelated to toys like foods, accessories,etc. They're all inflated because of the material costs getting higher. Yet they're still not improving with the limited quantity.
One thing I've noticed as well with figmas is scale. They tend to be on the smaller side and don't really fit in with any other toy line. The scale worked well back in the day because they didn't have much competition from Bandai/Revoltech/Mafex, but nowadays they have definitely stagnated. Also their catalog these days is really underwhelming, like half of their releases are just FGO which I don't really care for. I've only ordered 1 figma in the past year and that was Mona.
the funniest part is that even as fgo enjoyer I am not interested in this figures because they mostly make the same characters over and over again instead of any other servant
this was a very insightful and eye-opening video, person speaking I haven't collected any figmas due to the high price point instead I opted to get revoltech figures at a cheaper price mostly because more Mecha characters there are released there. that being said I cannot deny the importance of the Figma line, so I do hope that good smile company can out a figure out counterbalance between price and number of accessories.
I always loved figmas and nendoroids for the amazing amount and quality of accessories they include (like madoka and BRS figmas), now the lack of important accessories are outrageous especially when an accessory that's iconic to the character was made only available for DX or preorder bonus. Besides increasing production fees, could license fees from the IP Owners might also be a factor? I have noticed Goodsmile could make popular figures from series like Durarara, Crayon Shinchan, Danganronpa, Megami Tensei, and more series. However they are only announced after the hype for each series was pretty much ran out, so I thought it could also be a possibility. I miss the times where figma prices were what pop-up parade figurine prices are now, but now there are way more interesting figure lineups with affordable prices like Furyu's noodle stopper figurines that some casual anime fans could get into. I wish Goodsmile can make a comeback in the future, their figurine lineup introduced me to a lot of series back then and now still.
I remember being in highschool and buying the Kos-Mos figma back in 2005 and I paid like 50$ and it was loaded with accessories. I recently got the Usada Pekora figma and while that has a bit more it is still lacking in terms of my older Figmas from back when I was in highschool.
Pretty easy to see what happened, oil prices rose, plastic prices rose, the cost to the consumer rose, profit goes down as fewer customers feel comfortable with paying higher prices, fewer figures are made and less chances are taken. It's not rocket science.
I only have a few figmas myself and I noticed the problems you mentioned here as well. But the announced Doom Slayer figure is giving me hope. Price is of course on the expensive side, but the size(like 2x bigger than a normal figma) and the amount of accessories the Slayer's coming with are enough to make up for it. I hope the Doom Slayer figma will be a hit and it will be a new standard for future figures.
That's why I converted to collecting scale figures or prize figures nowadays because at the end of day I'll just be displaying them anyway more than playing with them.
very interesting. i found the mention of QC issues to be interesting, i have the #14 hatsune miku figure and i can't swap the hands out on mine so unfortunately she wont be able to hold her mic or leek. i don't wanna try to force them out of fear of breaking it but other than that, i think figmas are pretty neat. its unfortunate that the prices are going up though, i wanted to get some of the newer miku figures too but the cost is too much.
Put some water in a microwave safe cup and microwave it for about 130-2 minutes. Give the cup like 30 seconds to cool down enough to pick up. Put the arm with issues in the water for about 30 seconds. You should be able to move the wrist and remove it. After the wrist is moving, make sure to put it under cold water to stiffen the plastic back up again and you should be good to go
If you're having problems removing a part, run it under warm water until it loosens. This method also works if you have tight joints. Running it under warm water will not damage the paint and is a safe way to loosen parts. Always remember to be gentle and take your time. Contact me if you have any questions about cleaning or maintaining your figmas.
I believe that a vital point that was overlooked during this is the fact that most of the time, Max Factory is the only one doing the Figma line ontop of all the other things that they have to do for Goodsmile's other ranges, whereas Bandai has multiple teams for their SH insertwordhereArts. Lesser workforce allotted to branch = lower product yield per turnover. Then again there's mostly one person doing Revoltech these days and it could just boil down to individual's efficiency, but even Revoltech has been reaching the Figma levels of prices to compensate. Either way, I feel small workforce is one of the driving reasons as to why Figma releases have been increasing in price, lowering in accessories as well as reducing in batches. ADDENDUM: I realized as well that Marvel Legends has it pretty obvious as to who's making who per release, as some stuff like Monster Venom and Apocalypse BAF, even Venompool are considered some of the best because they are sculpted by a completely different artist from the main staff who run the product line and said artist knows muscle definition extremely well. Explains why Marvel Legends can be extremely good or extremely bad sometimes.
I started collecting figma back in 2010 started with Black Rock Shooter. I found that since they started up pumping out FGO figures, the pricing went insanely expensive. Got fed up, sold all my collection and only keeping the BRS and Kill la Kill collection. And I thought the insane black rock shooter price was stupid back then. Now it looks like a steal bundled with the DVD/BD set. P.S. my BRS collection isn't complete yet over 10 years and now the new BRS figmas are coming out with the new pricing jeez
I'm pretty into Marvel Legends and Mafex (sometimes McFarlane or Jazwares) but I just pre-ordered my first Figma this month. To me it seems to be the only way to get figures of anime or other niche things. I got Marine Houshou and the only other one I'll get is Amelia Watson when she goes up for preorder. Even as a first time buyer it does seem pretty expensive, as Marvel Legends retail around $25.
I love this guy, very informative video, I subscribed. I’m sad to hear Figma is in a “decline.” I noticed myself, I’ve been buying a few Figmas, and they’re up to $80-$100 now! The Jujutsu Kaisen ones were all $80, and Kugisaki ended up being $100!! Like he said, we can’t do anything about it :\
Thank you for this video! I keep checking Goodsmile monthly to see if they would improve, but the only thing that raises are their prices. Whenever I see Figma make a figure of a Western statue or famous painting, I'm admittedly very annoyed because if feels like a "wasted slot" to me. It's certainly not out of popularity, i'm sure more people would purchase an FGO Karna or Arjuna Alter figure even if they didn't know who they were. The IP choices are also inconsistent, like there isn't a Yue from Cardcaptor Sakura or Rubedo and Shion from Xenosaga, even though having them would complete the "set" of previous figures they've made from those franchises.
I would like to point out that back when Shimakaze came out, the yen was a lot stronger. So, she likely would have been somewhere between $55-$60 USD. Which puts her at around the same price as Ochako. That said, she still comes with a lot more than Ochako does. Probably the example that bugs me the most is figma Izuku vs the Amazing Yamaguchi. The Yamaguchi is only 700 yen more. Yet he has way more accessories, more play features, and _much_ better articulation. The figma doesn't even have show accuracy to fall back on, considering that its proportions are way out of wack, and his eyes are too small and the wrong shape. For me, personally. I don't think figmas have evolved enough in terms of articulation design and engineering. I personally consider Captain America to be the best figma, and he came out back in 2014. I would add more to the conversation, but Actar pretty much said everything I would have said about rising production costs. Not only has it affected collectible anime figures, but toys as a whole.
Figmas now being the price of what used to be the price of a decent PVC figure and PVC figures having doubled if not more in price themselves has really put me off the hobby for the time being sadly.. but I did notice goodsmile coming up with a new series of simple budget friendly PVC figures so that's pretty nice to see. I hope the hobby will get more affordable again but for now I'll stick to buying manga more :')
hey this is a really good video!! i recently bought a preowned madoka figma for 54 dollars and was interested in getting more figmas. but i was unaware of the recent state of figma prices and such, so i was very lucky to see this in my youtube feed. very informative and funny !
I know I keep a lot of my Gundam accessories like hands and such, in a Ziploc bag. Most of my other figures I got that have different faces and hands all stay in the box to keep everything together. As much as I would like to get my favorite character from Figma, the cost is too high for something I will end up leaving in the box and even least likely to get one to take out of the bock. Now, if I was doing stop motion fan work, then I might would be more incline to get them, but still begs the question where to store all and the hands and face so you don't lose them. I can understand the appeal of the clear stand, but I wounder if the stand was a solid nuteral color with the ability to store hands and faces in would help with keeping things together.
Same as SHFiguarts especially shinkocchou seihou Kamen rider line. Just straight out fresh out of release heavily scalped and not to mention sold out in second after preorder opened!
I really respect how this video wasnt just "big company raising prices must mean they're being greedy" and instead actually provides substantial economic and material reasons for why figmas are selling with less for more. As someone who doesnt pose my figures very much after I first buy them im totally in the boat of "chucking extra accessories into a box once im done." That and I dont own very many figmas because I dont like the big obvious joints. I only end up getting them when I think the sculpt hides them particularly well (I bought the Bondrewd Gangway version when it first was revealed)
You can't really blame them since plenty of companies used that exact alibi to cover up their price increases or BS practices, for especially in the videogames industry. I mean why did Sony increase prices for the PS5 despite being still hard to get after 2 years? Or Activision-Blizzard firing a thousand employees despite record profits?
Bandai has been attacking market ages 30+ like me. DBZ, Gundam, Sailormoon. Us who have money, can starve for carved. Those anime, and others of same timeline is the pot of gold for max factory
Man, the first Figma I bought was way back at 2009 with Figma Nanoha Takamachi StrikerS ver. I agree Figma these days are sure getting harder to collect - mostly the newer ones. I somehow slowed down around 2018 and when 2019 came things got a little harder. The last Figma I bought was a reissue of Iowa while the only Figma I got for the year (in PO) is Doomslayer. I plan on going for Love Live Superstar Figmas but the accessories were few while the prices on them were pretty high for the figures. Right now I'll track on older stuff - mostly on the Nanoha stuff in Figmas.
I was never able to hop on the figma because i started buying anime merch late. The price is so steep when i think about my already stretched budget. Their lines are so few that my fave characters (that im willing to spend more on) aint getting release. :(
When I finally started getting my own money I was finally able to buy all the figmas I wanted, they where all way to expensive and I got disappointed and bought gunpla instead, I only got like 1 nendoroid and 2 figures from the phat! line second hand
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As always, it was great fun working on the video with you! Here's hoping we'll be able to see the triumphant return of figma figures in the future! (^.^)
Heeeeey!
ACTAR you legend. I got into figma and figurines because of you. All the way back from the Lyrical Nanoha times. Thank you.
Everything you said in this video makes perfect sense as to why Figma is in the situation it's in;
- collecting them is far more niche than the company (or it's fans) seemed to have realized in the early days (for the exact reason you already mentioned; most people would rather have a larger statue with more detail than a small figure that can pose in 3 dozen ways - I'd assume because, like Gundam models, the average person just picks a cool pose and won't touch the figure for an extended period of time)
- plus the massive increase in mold and paint quality (the better both of these get, the more skilled you need the designers to be and thus the more you have to pay them; and that cost always gets passed on to consumers)
- outside influences like the increasing price of the materials used to make them causes each figure to cost more than previous releases (the cost of PVC, one of the two plastics used in the models, went from costing $889 USD per metric tonne in 2020 to $1,389 per metric tonne today - ABS plastic went from $2,640 per metric tonne in 2017 to roughly $3,300 per tonne in 2022)
All of that would lead any well-functioning company to scale back on production because their job isn't to create the best action figures with the widest variety and the most accessories, it's to make as big a profit as they can, and if profit margins start decreasing, so too does production to compensate so the company doesn't go from making 500% return on investment to only 400% (or really any decrease in profit margins at all; the goal of any publicly traded company is to make more money this year than they did last year... every year... forever).
I miss those good old days when revoltech and figma is cheap and affordable with alot of accessories. The most expensive figma i bought is Berserker Armor for USD 50.
That price 😂
The most expensive one is figma casca
@@nfa_copium2479 And how is that relevant?
At least revoltech has actually improved by a lot. Their figures have became super sturdy.
@@virginlamb5375revoltech is a rare case where the price increase is justified. I can’t even get a crazy/rage face with most of my characters, special effects, although they improved poseability with some figma there’s still a lot that don’t have that or suffer from qc issues. It’s sad because this is the line that got me into collecting
It's a shame to see Figma reaching this low. Figma was part of the things that interested me when I was first exposed to anime, and I even gained new hobby after started to collect Figma - Creating stop motion animation. But now it's really hard to get Figma of my favorite characters...... I am still willing to pay more to get Figma, problem is they don't even allow me to pay when there is no Figma I am interested in.
Yep and they don't make more figures of lines that seemed to have been dropped.
which is a shame because I would love for them to make more figures for mha,aot,durarara!!,hxh,etc
But yeah I don't think I'll collect alot of figma's unless they're one of my favorite characters
yea :(
the moment when figma reached 10kyen is where I draw the line of affordable pricing. the amount of acessories and the high pricing is ridiculous. even with FGO lancer Artoria dx is cost at 17.8k yen even with both normal ver is still heck expensive on that horse and even way more expensive than Erwin came out.
I honestly feel like they're keeping with market unfortunately. Lots of companies have been 100 plus dollar figure for a few years now
It is affordable. You're just too jealous LMFAO
@@packersluke smooth brain says what?
@@fillerbunnyninjashark271 ah so you're too poor to afford figma.
@@fillerbunnyninjashark271 and other companies' figures
I was honestly surprised Figmas now go for $80+ when I used to be able to find them for like $40-ish (or less if I was lucky) in conventions back in 2012-2015
Lol, their is a thing called inflation, everything from our figures, to our phones, into housing has gone up. Its not just figma, all other merchandise has gone way up.
@@Ghostalker85 yea, I'm seeing people complaining a lot about this or when companies are making budget cuts /layoffs and it truly is because the pandemic, inflation and rising prices for the production, manufacturing and transportation of goods. It sucks and I hope it will all improve soon...
Lmao and here i am buying genji figma from ebay for 150$
Figmas are becoming increasingly difficult with the price hiking with each release. A normal anime school girl with a bunch of hands can turn from 8000 yen to 9000 yen with only a few months time. It's crazy Max Factory thinks this is okay.
You can't really buy a Figma just cuz you think it's cool, you really have to decide if you really want it or not, so I've basically cut down on my purchases save for a few franchises that I know I'd want like Fate. Which... Doesn't really help since Fate is basically one of their cashcows.
good thing i don't like Fate that much.
Yeah, i used to buy one's just because i liked the character design. Now the price is so high i only buy if i have seen the show or have some sort of affection for the character.
"you really have to decide if you really want it or not"
agree, luckily from all of figma ever exist, only 2 of them are characters i really love
Agreed. Plus there aren't that many Figmas of my favorite characters.
I only have 4(as of this reply): Black Rock Shooter, Raphtalia, Asuna, and Rikka.
Nowadays, the only "pose-able" anime figures I can find, are S.H. Figuarts,
which are slightly cheaper than Figma by about $20 average.
They’re so expensive yet THEY BREAK SO EASILY
I recently bought from the Snail Shell brand, the truth is that in details and number of accessories it is far above figma. Those are really worth what you pay.
Thanks for the video!
Exactly, I love being able to do real good poses without some skirt or heavy plastic dress being in the way
They're certainly nice but you're _really_ paying for it. About US$120 or so. Revoltech has the same problem. Good figures, but they're pretty much all over $100.
Huge Figma collector here. This is truly sad to see. It’s becoming the norm to pay $80+ and get barely any accessories
I remember Figma being $100 maximum, and seeing them go for over 11000 yen,
and not get that many accessories for that price, feels like a rip-off to me.
figma balls
Figma still reigns supreme when it comes to articulated anime figures and that’s kind of the problem. The way we consume media has changed a lot in the last decade. There aren’t many safe bets anymore because we move on to the next new thing very quickly since there’s a lot of new things all the time.
The biggest strength when it comes to anime and manga in comparison to comics and superhero movies is a really big problem for making figures. When it comes to superhero figures it’s pretty much just make the new things. There’s already a bigger audience and you’re mostly just making more of the same thing within a couple already established franchises. You can start to work on figures before the movies even come out. Whereas with anime figures it's very volatile because it’s hard to even know what will be a success and by the time you’ve confirmed that (which is usually when a show ends because shows occasionally do this thing where they have terrible endings) and start working on a figure people will probably have moved on to the next thing. This is why they’re mostly making stuff from games or shows with multiple seasons or vtubers because that’s the stuff they can feel more confident will reliably stick with people.
Figma balls
Great vid btw
They start thinking they are somebody in any industry they go TURBO!
Go Turbo? WIR reference? 👀
@@SonodaSymphony yes. Turbotastic.
The reason why Figma can gain lots of fans (not the collector) is the quality of their products and the use of soft plastic for the skirt parts
I still remember when both GSC and Bandai release their own Love Live action figure. GSC use soft plastic for the skirt, while Bandai use hard plastic and put half of the characters on Premium Bandai/Tamashii web exclusive. It makes harder for people to become fans of SHF when Bandai themselves only make it available for Japanese people
SHF IS TAKING OVER THE FIGURE GAME🗿
Plastics in general are just more expensive now, especially during the pandemic era. I can also confirm this because mechanical keyboards, another hobby of mine, have plastic parts like keycaps that are also getting much more expensive. Because of that factor, Good Smile probably found it less worth it to create low cost figures when material costs are rising. Pop Up Parade seems to be taking over, probably because they are much cheaper to make overall (since no articulating parts).
been watching actar figma review back in the days, since then figma is my favorite figures line, i still keep buying them eventhough the price goes skyrocket
Thanks for the support! (^o^)
@@Actar_Raikit I remember watching your videos!!! you got me into figma so much. you’re the definitely OG anime figure reviewer king 👑
You're exactly why prices skyrocket: they can get away with it.
I've always wanted figma anime figures ever since I was a young teen. Now I'm in my very early 20s, and started collecting them. And it does suck to see their prices go higher. I feel that the pandemic also caused prices to increase.
I really want to say it's also due to licensing, since not all the figures produced are wanted as figures for some collectors. If they were able to dip their toes into other "waters" then I feel they could grow since there are many franchises/series that haven't had the figma treatment in a while(ex; YYH( recently made by a 3rd party; Dasin model), Hellsing, Trigun, Fairy Tail to name a few). They also have the potential to release other characters, just kindo how their berserk line is a bit dry(imo) and re-releasing the sought after figs.
I can't forgive them for simplifying their boxes.
I've moved from figmas to collecting model kits like the megami device line or frame arm girls
That's also one of the reasons Figma's popularity has decreased, there's was more options now if you want a posable figure than back then, some lines, like A.T.K Girls, Megami Device, Frame Arms, etc offer much more than current figmas, not only from the get go, but by the fact that they are also made up to be super easy to customize whoever the person want, be it with hundreds of accessories to chose from or just painting them in any color combination desired, all of that while also being cheaper than Figmas.
Yep, same here. And with bandai now joining the mecha musume world properly (let's not talk about their previous attempts) with their insanely cheap but we'll crafted 30ms I see a lot of figma collectors moving on to musume kits.
Same for me I moved to gunpla
As a figure collector myself, I can definitely agree with the "accessories being hinder-some" part.
I love Figmas, and I have a few myself. But once I've chosen a pose I like, the extra accessories just get put into storage.
Unless I want to do stop motion like other people, which is unlikely.
Another factor into the high prices, could be inflation, at least in my country.
This video feels like a UA-cam video from 2011, and I love it. But it is sad what’s happening with figma
Figma? No you mean L i g m a .
Wow, and I just bought my first ever Figma on AmiAmi a week ago. I wasn't really thinking that hard about accessories when making the purchase, because it's a character from one of my favorite gachas. I'm blinded by purchases like that lol.
However, seeing the difference in price and the lack of add-ons from past vs. present figures was really surprising! Before shipping price, my Figma was in that $70 range. Makes me wish I knew about Figma a lot sooner than later! XD
Thanks for this video! It was really helpful and funny. :D
better late than never knowing about this at all. you should be glad that you buy the character you love, not just "oh this looks cool, i'll buy it"
Yeah I just recently got interested in figures, and it's underwhelming how price has increased but with less accessories compared to the past. But I really love the character so still want to buy it. Would be worse to splurge on whatever looks nice even though you aren't that into the character.
Figma is gouging. And Japanese prices themselves are getting expensive, add another $40 usd for American customers.
I just pre-ordered Hemet nethel for $92, with tax and shipping, since it's such a unique piece. It was hard to bring myself to do, but these days the value proposition for most articulating anime figures is poor... There's a significant gap in the 1/12 scale atm.
yeah helmet is an hard choice for me too, she is gorgeous but I think I will let her go
I looked back on my P3 Aigis figma that I purchased in 2015 and was surprised it was only about 40 bucks, now the price has nearly tripled since then. Its astonishing.
As a casual figure collector, thank you for the info. I wouldn't mind getting more figma figures if there are any that appeals to me. Or nenroid. Or revoltech. I don't really discriminate.
I only buy figures when I love the characters to death. Which helps me greatly to choose and save some money.
But I also will sell my figures when they endup disappointing me out of defects, when I don't love them anymore, or the articulation being not what I expected.
Still, this hurts to me, since now not even Nendoroids are safe from the shitty decisions on price and availability. The Bayonetta Nendoroid almost killed my wallet and I'm PISSED.
Also, please let's not forget about the exclusive bonus parts, which makes the price even higher, and is not even such a great thing to justify the money. Just a new faceplate, a base with some logo, or a tiny little accessory which doesn't cost even the 10000000 (?) part of the actual figure.
Absolutely ridiculous.
And I hate this so much because I love these figures, and I already was picky as hell to buy only those I for sure will keep and love, but I don't think I'll ever be able to buy one anymore.
The competitors are catching up but they don't have the correct IPs for sales. They simply have no choice but to invest in engineering.
Aktar is still alive! That guy's the reason I started buying Figmas like a maniac! Of course it started with Haruhi, after binging both seasons & the movie. I think I got all the Haruhi collection, except her summer outfit. Oh why didn't Bandai just finish Robo version KA of Mikuru Asahina?! Why??!!!! Now I'm missing her forever! That's a glaring hole that can not be filled!
The last Figma I received is Pekora! Yes, even the basic ones are $70 - $90 these days. I suppose the Kancolle line is dead. Also, no one's doing Azurlane. My most two expensive ones are probably Slan & that ship girl that sits in a chair, I completely forgot her name. They are both in the $150 range. The price hikes a really a huge bummer, but I will still get the ones I really like.
On another note, just paid for Nendo Gura & Rushia. No shipping notice yet. Hoping to get them by the weekend.
It looks like the days when Figma released all the characters are over. Now you're lucky if you get more than the core cast. I can't wait for all the Myth girls!
forget _that!_
the real question is: what happened to ligma?
Been collecting figmas since about 2012 and have about 200 of them. They have gotten a hell of a lot better quality over the years. They are still very good figures however it's gotten to the point where the price no longer justifies it. I used to think 'oh it only cost 30 bucks? I'll have that then'. But now it's so expensive and I don't want a single figure to feel like an investment. At the end of the day there are cheaper figures that are just as good quality or better than figma.
woah do put them on instragram?
"You've become the very thing you swore to destroy"
Also something to note is how what's popular nowadays end up only being popular in a much shorter time frame. So short in fact that figma's development cycle cannot keep up at all. By the time they are able to release this certain character from a series, the fans have already moved on. What's worse they tend to keep series lines incomplete nowadays due to this problem.
I think this started with their One Punch Saitama figma figure which came out so late nobody cared for the series anymore by the time it released. This is the time they stopped completing sets of characters from various series. Symphogear comes to mind. Maxfactory seemed to have learned from this and are only casting their dice on really popular series in Japan like Fate Series and nowadays hololive. Problem with this is what if you are not a fan of those things?
This is the case for me. I started with figmas for my collectibles but nowadays? I just look at a new figma's source material then look at the price and just sigh. Also yes, there are other options for poseable figures nowadays that still keep the whole notion of more bang for your buck that figma used to have so I tend to gravitate towards those nowadays.
Snail Shell is one and Daibadi is one too. Worth a try. The only problem they have is they produce their own characters, not licensed characters.
I agree with you, the figures (and this counts for every piece of merch tbh, even cosplays) take so much time to get done, that when they're ready to sell, the people is already onto the next trend.
Of course no one can predict which anime will be the big one to go and invest in figures and merch, but man it would be awesome to get figures at the same time the anime drops out.
Actar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The memories!
heck, to this day, the blank figma is one of my favourites, because i loved using it for drawing, and to practice sculpting over and making my own accessories and clothing for. i'm even one of the weirdos who liked their tabletop museum line, with all figures of famous art pieces lol.
IMO the types/amount of properties represented by figma and the characters they actually choose to sculpt are the reason they have trouble finding a market. The last 10 announced figures that are not re-released are from: a VTUBER group, a web series, 2 mobile games, a video game, random art recreations, and then 4 are from separate anime, two of which have versions that are being created by other companies with earlier release dates. Figma needs to choose a demographic or series and work more consistently on making impressive collections in shorter time windows.
My first figma were the Madoka Magica line because other companies weren't making them articulated and they represented the whole main cast and the antagonist. If they treated more series releases like that they'd have a niche. Right now they're all over the place. Look at how consistent companies like Bandai and Aniplex have been. I can always expect Dragon Ball and Demon Slayer every few months and they are action series, so the articulation suits them. If figma would have consistently released (only examples) FGO (not Saber-face) or Shaman King there'd be little competition and a consistent expectation.
Honestly I don't get the random illustration figures. Yes they're super pretty, but who the hell knows those? Not from a famous anime/game/etc, not even actual names (most go for stuff like "insert word here" girl from X illustrator). I have the feeling these are from internal contests of the sculptors on the company, and they choose a winner to make their own figure to flex on "look how complicated and detail this figure is, buy it before is too late!"
I remember an incredibly beautiful figure being born in those conditions. But that one was from a (rather unknown) manga series so it wasn't a random design either.
If you think about it companies like Bandai and Medicos consistently create action figures for series who don't have any alternatives (ie: Dragon Ball, Kamen Rider, and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure) which results in a consistent customer base. Good Smile's Figma kind of all over the place which results in them not finding niche.
@1:26-1:36 This is why I love this channel. It keeps you immersed.
FIGMABALLS
Thank you for covering this topic. As a figma fan, I am still collecting them albeit at a slower pace due to the lack of space at my place. When compared to the older figmas with the new versions such as Saber and Rin, I find that there's a stark difference (or upgrade) between them. Though I am disappointed with the increased price compared to the amount of items figma is offering. Nonetheless, I am still collecting them though I am limited to my favorite waifus.
Also, it's nice to hear Actar after all these years.
Very insightful video. Now I can see why the figures have been getting more expensive.
buy 2 Figma = one Scale Figure
You smell that chat? That's the smell of a drastically underrated UA-camr! Subbing to support this man!
yeah I stopped collecting like two years ago. They were always defected like yugi, makoto( major), dark magician girl and others. Plus the price went way up with little accessories.
I LOVE figures with articulation and lots of accessories.
Yeah its crazy just how fast the price increases happened, literally over the span of a year or two it went up 2000¥
yooooooooooo Actar was the first figma reviewer I watched back in the day ~~ used to watch his Code Geass KMF reviews before he sold them all :O
i gave up on the mass manufactures of accessories and high-detail models, they never make the stuff i want (or can afford) so i turned to 3d printing and it's treating me pretty well.
According to one of their partner stores, Gamersheek, Goodsmile seems to be planning to move away from the Figma line and focusing on their Nendoroid and Pop Up Parade line.
Do you have a link to the article?
@@minatoarisato4742 no article, spoke to them in person 😅
@@minatoarisato4742 they basically said ua-cam.com/video/r7l0Rq9E8MY/v-deo.html
The problem started when GS/Max Factory inclined their merchandising for overall collectors instead of otakus-only (the golden age)
figmaballs
The wait for the figures is also becoming insane. Lady maria went up for preorder a YEAR ago and was due this month but got delayed another 6 months
I've noticed the price hikes with GSC products in general as of late, too. I remember when I got my first nendoroid back in 2013 (Mikasa Ackerman), and she was about $45 at the time (pretty good deal, given how many accessories she came with). But lately, recent releases have been costing me around at LEAST $70, even when they come with far fewer accessories. I get that inflation over almost a decade is to be expected, but with these figures almost doubling in price, I'm starting to wonder if it's worth it, as much as I love their figures.
That's literally most of the anime figures to be honest. Just look at nendoroids, scales and normal toys. Heck, even something unrelated to toys like foods, accessories,etc. They're all inflated because of the material costs getting higher.
Yet they're still not improving with the limited quantity.
One thing I've noticed as well with figmas is scale. They tend to be on the smaller side and don't really fit in with any other toy line. The scale worked well back in the day because they didn't have much competition from Bandai/Revoltech/Mafex, but nowadays they have definitely stagnated. Also their catalog these days is really underwhelming, like half of their releases are just FGO which I don't really care for. I've only ordered 1 figma in the past year and that was Mona.
the funniest part is that even as fgo enjoyer I am not interested in this figures because they mostly make the same characters over and over again instead of any other servant
Figma fits pretty well into 1/12 scale though, and it's fairly easy to get 3rd party accessories that are to-scale with Figmas.
this was a very insightful and eye-opening video, person speaking I haven't collected any figmas due to the high price point instead I opted to get revoltech figures at a cheaper price mostly because more Mecha characters there are released there.
that being said I cannot deny the importance of the Figma line, so I do hope that good smile company can out a figure out counterbalance between price and number of accessories.
I always loved figmas and nendoroids for the amazing amount and quality of accessories they include (like madoka and BRS figmas), now the lack of important accessories are outrageous especially when an accessory that's iconic to the character was made only available for DX or preorder bonus.
Besides increasing production fees, could license fees from the IP Owners might also be a factor? I have noticed Goodsmile could make popular figures from series like Durarara, Crayon Shinchan, Danganronpa, Megami Tensei, and more series. However they are only announced after the hype for each series was pretty much ran out, so I thought it could also be a possibility.
I miss the times where figma prices were what pop-up parade figurine prices are now, but now there are way more interesting figure lineups with affordable prices like Furyu's noodle stopper figurines that some casual anime fans could get into. I wish Goodsmile can make a comeback in the future, their figurine lineup introduced me to a lot of series back then and now still.
Bruh, even Pop up Parade figures are getting more expensive now 💔
I remember being in highschool and buying the Kos-Mos figma back in 2005 and I paid like 50$ and it was loaded with accessories. I recently got the Usada Pekora figma and while that has a bit more it is still lacking in terms of my older Figmas from back when I was in highschool.
Pretty easy to see what happened, oil prices rose, plastic prices rose, the cost to the consumer rose, profit goes down as fewer customers feel comfortable with paying higher prices, fewer figures are made and less chances are taken. It's not rocket science.
Very nice insightful content!
I only have a few figmas myself and I noticed the problems you mentioned here as well. But the announced Doom Slayer figure is giving me hope. Price is of course on the expensive side, but the size(like 2x bigger than a normal figma) and the amount of accessories the Slayer's coming with are enough to make up for it. I hope the Doom Slayer figma will be a hit and it will be a new standard for future figures.
Omggg I always used to watch actar’s figma reviews when I was 12. Great times when figmas were quite affordable and so much fun to play with
Lol it’s funny that you mention Pop-up Parade, because those are going up in price as well
Figma balls
Friendship ended with Figma now POP-UP PARADE is my best friend
Don't forget inflation.
Erwin Smith was my last purchase, and now I have lost all hope of Goodsmile completing the original main survey corp from AoT
That's why I converted to collecting scale figures or prize figures nowadays because at the end of day I'll just be displaying them anyway more than playing with them.
the prices are very much skyrocketing
very interesting. i found the mention of QC issues to be interesting, i have the #14 hatsune miku figure and i can't swap the hands out on mine so unfortunately she wont be able to hold her mic or leek. i don't wanna try to force them out of fear of breaking it but other than that, i think figmas are pretty neat. its unfortunate that the prices are going up though, i wanted to get some of the newer miku figures too but the cost is too much.
Put some water in a microwave safe cup and microwave it for about 130-2 minutes. Give the cup like 30 seconds to cool down enough to pick up. Put the arm with issues in the water for about 30 seconds. You should be able to move the wrist and remove it. After the wrist is moving, make sure to put it under cold water to stiffen the plastic back up again and you should be good to go
@@fillerbunnyninjashark271 noted, ill try this next time i pose it
If you're having problems removing a part, run it under warm water until it loosens. This method also works if you have tight joints. Running it under warm water will not damage the paint and is a safe way to loosen parts. Always remember to be gentle and take your time. Contact me if you have any questions about cleaning or maintaining your figmas.
This video gave me the same feeling I got when I first discovered anime itself. Thanks for that.
figma nuts
I believe that a vital point that was overlooked during this is the fact that most of the time, Max Factory is the only one doing the Figma line ontop of all the other things that they have to do for Goodsmile's other ranges, whereas Bandai has multiple teams for their SH insertwordhereArts. Lesser workforce allotted to branch = lower product yield per turnover. Then again there's mostly one person doing Revoltech these days and it could just boil down to individual's efficiency, but even Revoltech has been reaching the Figma levels of prices to compensate. Either way, I feel small workforce is one of the driving reasons as to why Figma releases have been increasing in price, lowering in accessories as well as reducing in batches.
ADDENDUM: I realized as well that Marvel Legends has it pretty obvious as to who's making who per release, as some stuff like Monster Venom and Apocalypse BAF, even Venompool are considered some of the best because they are sculpted by a completely different artist from the main staff who run the product line and said artist knows muscle definition extremely well. Explains why Marvel Legends can be extremely good or extremely bad sometimes.
I wished more people collected figmas, use your creativity people!
bro has never heard of inflation
I started collecting figma back in 2010 started with Black Rock Shooter. I found that since they started up pumping out FGO figures, the pricing went insanely expensive. Got fed up, sold all my collection and only keeping the BRS and Kill la Kill collection. And I thought the insane black rock shooter price was stupid back then. Now it looks like a steal bundled with the DVD/BD set.
P.S. my BRS collection isn't complete yet over 10 years and now the new BRS figmas are coming out with the new pricing jeez
This is a very spot on review...
Ok bro you win my sub 👍
I'm pretty into Marvel Legends and Mafex (sometimes McFarlane or Jazwares) but I just pre-ordered my first Figma this month. To me it seems to be the only way to get figures of anime or other niche things. I got Marine Houshou and the only other one I'll get is Amelia Watson when she goes up for preorder. Even as a first time buyer it does seem pretty expensive, as Marvel Legends retail around $25.
great video, and nice space channel 5 music ;)!!!
I love this guy, very informative video, I subscribed. I’m sad to hear Figma is in a “decline.”
I noticed myself, I’ve been buying a few Figmas, and they’re up to $80-$100 now! The Jujutsu Kaisen ones were all $80, and Kugisaki ended up being $100!! Like he said, we can’t do anything about it :\
Thank you for this video! I keep checking Goodsmile monthly to see if they would improve, but the only thing that raises are their prices. Whenever I see Figma make a figure of a Western statue or famous painting, I'm admittedly very annoyed because if feels like a "wasted slot" to me. It's certainly not out of popularity, i'm sure more people would purchase an FGO Karna or Arjuna Alter figure even if they didn't know who they were. The IP choices are also inconsistent, like there isn't a Yue from Cardcaptor Sakura or Rubedo and Shion from Xenosaga, even though having them would complete the "set" of previous figures they've made from those franchises.
I've been wondering the same thing! Thank you so much for the informative video!
I would like to point out that back when Shimakaze came out, the yen was a lot stronger. So, she likely would have been somewhere between $55-$60 USD. Which puts her at around the same price as Ochako. That said, she still comes with a lot more than Ochako does.
Probably the example that bugs me the most is figma Izuku vs the Amazing Yamaguchi. The Yamaguchi is only 700 yen more. Yet he has way more accessories, more play features, and _much_ better articulation. The figma doesn't even have show accuracy to fall back on, considering that its proportions are way out of wack, and his eyes are too small and the wrong shape.
For me, personally. I don't think figmas have evolved enough in terms of articulation design and engineering. I personally consider Captain America to be the best figma, and he came out back in 2014.
I would add more to the conversation, but Actar pretty much said everything I would have said about rising production costs. Not only has it affected collectible anime figures, but toys as a whole.
Action figure prices are going up, my paycheck stay idle...
Figmas now being the price of what used to be the price of a decent PVC figure and PVC figures having doubled if not more in price themselves has really put me off the hobby for the time being sadly.. but I did notice goodsmile coming up with a new series of simple budget friendly PVC figures so that's pretty nice to see. I hope the hobby will get more affordable again but for now I'll stick to buying manga more :')
hey this is a really good video!! i recently bought a preowned madoka figma for 54 dollars and was interested in getting more figmas. but i was unaware of the recent state of figma prices and such, so i was very lucky to see this in my youtube feed. very informative and funny !
I can't take any word that ends with "igma" seriously anymore
I know I keep a lot of my Gundam accessories like hands and such, in a Ziploc bag. Most of my other figures I got that have different faces and hands all stay in the box to keep everything together. As much as I would like to get my favorite character from Figma, the cost is too high for something I will end up leaving in the box and even least likely to get one to take out of the bock. Now, if I was doing stop motion fan work, then I might would be more incline to get them, but still begs the question where to store all and the hands and face so you don't lose them. I can understand the appeal of the clear stand, but I wounder if the stand was a solid nuteral color with the ability to store hands and faces in would help with keeping things together.
Same as SHFiguarts especially shinkocchou seihou Kamen rider line. Just straight out fresh out of release heavily scalped and not to mention sold out in second after preorder opened!
I haven't bought figma figures for years because of their exaggerated prices
I really respect how this video wasnt just "big company raising prices must mean they're being greedy" and instead actually provides substantial economic and material reasons for why figmas are selling with less for more. As someone who doesnt pose my figures very much after I first buy them im totally in the boat of "chucking extra accessories into a box once im done." That and I dont own very many figmas because I dont like the big obvious joints. I only end up getting them when I think the sculpt hides them particularly well (I bought the Bondrewd Gangway version when it first was revealed)
You can't really blame them since plenty of companies used that exact alibi to cover up their price increases or BS practices, for especially in the videogames industry. I mean why did Sony increase prices for the PS5 despite being still hard to get after 2 years? Or Activision-Blizzard firing a thousand employees despite record profits?
Bandai has been attacking market ages 30+ like me. DBZ, Gundam, Sailormoon. Us who have money, can starve for carved. Those anime, and others of same timeline is the pot of gold for max factory
And shfiguarts around 6-7k yen but still keeping among accessories
Man, the first Figma I bought was way back at 2009 with Figma Nanoha Takamachi StrikerS ver. I agree Figma these days are sure getting harder to collect - mostly the newer ones. I somehow slowed down around 2018 and when 2019 came things got a little harder. The last Figma I bought was a reissue of Iowa while the only Figma I got for the year (in PO) is Doomslayer. I plan on going for Love Live Superstar Figmas but the accessories were few while the prices on them were pretty high for the figures. Right now I'll track on older stuff - mostly on the Nanoha stuff in Figmas.
One thing,JOBBYTHEHONG!!!!
Back in the day, when Black Rock Shooter movie first came out, the figmas costs like around 2000+ yen.
8:48 this man really just looked at his whole collection and decided that would be the one to go on the table
I was never able to hop on the figma because i started buying anime merch late. The price is so steep when i think about my already stretched budget. Their lines are so few that my fave characters (that im willing to spend more on) aint getting release. :(
Bandai does this figuarts too. Smaller box, a few pairs of hands, and a few accessories, 50-60 bucks.
When I finally started getting my own money I was finally able to buy all the figmas I wanted, they where all way to expensive and I got disappointed and bought gunpla instead, I only got like 1 nendoroid and 2 figures from the phat! line second hand